Her Torment
by rentaholic00
Summary: Angel's childhood bully comes looking for her. Complete. It kinda sucked...
1. Chapter 1

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Author's Note – Yup, you guessed it. I had a math sub. And also, no offense meant to Hispanic peeps…they rock my socks.

Disclaimer – Just playing with them.

Thanks to – the _fabulous_ Amanda for letting me steal… I mean… borrow without permission… her last name.

Chapter One

On Thursday afternoon, I heard a knock on the door to the loft I shared with Angel. Crawling off the couch and setting my book down, I went and slid the heavy metal door open.

The man that was standing in the doorway was so gigantic that he blocked the hanging light bulb in the hallway. Even I, standing at 6'2", had to tilt my head up to get a look at his threatening face. He was very large and muscular, very Hispanic, and_ very_ frightening. I had no idea what this intimidating man would want from me.

He cleared his throat before speaking. "Excuse me, I'm looking for Angel Shunard, and when I looked him up, I was given this address. Do you know where I could find him?"

I was astonished to discover that his voice was gentle and flowed like honey, very surprising, considering his appearance. "Um…he's not…home right now, might I ask why you were looking for him?" _She's _my _Angel and _you_ can't have her._

The man seemed to hesitate. "I…I uh…I bullied him when we were younger…we went through school together and I picked on him for…" He stopped, more hesitant than a few moments ago. "For?" 

"For being gay. I came from a _very _religious, _extremely _Catholic family and as you probably know, homosexuality is considered wrong in the Catholic and Christian faiths. I didn't understand that not everyone is religious and that they can choose their own lifestyles. And um…I came to apologize to him."

I was shocked. _Why hadn't Angel told me this before?_ "Well…Angel is out helping a few of our friends pick out some new clothes…Sh-…He should be back in about half an hour. Would you like to come in?" It was then that I realized that the mysterious man was still standing in the doorway.

He nodded and said, "Thank you." As he passed me, going into the loft.

He found the living area and sat on a chair. It was the chair that Mark usually sat in, seeing as the only other seats were loveseats, meant for two people. I laughed to myself as I remembered this.

I sat on my seat, directly across from the Hispanic man. "Can I ask your name, sir?" I asked, remembering that he still hadn't told me.

"Of course. My name is Mateo Carlos Gonzales. I'm guessing you want to know a bit about me, since I'm intruding…am I?"

"No, no, no…please, tell me about yourself, Mateo." I actually _was_ curious.

"Right. I was born in Los Angeles…the bad part of town. I grew up loving to read, write, and learn. My father left my family when I was seven years old and afterward, my mother was left with four children and a newborn baby only a few months old. My sister, Guadalupe, was the oldest of us children, being seventeen. She helped my mother a great deal taking care of the little ones. We grew up going to church very often and going to the local public school. In church one day, when I was eleven, the Sunday School teacher told us that 'homosexuality is wrong in the eyes of God and that any homosexual is considered a sinner.' Being young and naïve, I asked what it meant to be homosexual. The teacher so obviously didn't want to explain it to me, but she did. I was horrified. Why would someone want to kiss another person of the same gender, let alone marry them? The next week, I met Angel. He started at my middle school late. On his first day, he wore a white t-shirt and jeans, but his voice was feminine. Since I had been taught that being gay was wrong, I instinctively made fun of him. The taunting began in 6th grade and continued all through high school. I just didn't understand. One year ago, I lost a very close friend to AIDS. I thought he had gotten it from doing drugs by way of intravenous needles, but after his death, I found out it was because he was gay. I realized how wrong it was that I taunted and tormented Angel. I had to find him and apologize."

I stared at him, enthralled by his story. For a few moments, I was speechless. "S…She should be back in a few minutes now."

Sure enough, Angel burst through the door right at that very second. As I observed her, I talked to myself. _Dammit…she bought new clothes… again…grrr…_

I got off the loveseat I was sitting on and walked to the door to greet her. I wrapped my arm around her waist and pecked her lightly on the lips. "Angel, I want to introduce…or reintroduce as a matter of fact…you to someone. Come here, baby."

The confused look she wore was the cutest I've ever seen painted on her bright little face. She followed my lead, walking behind me as we held hands.

When she saw the Hispanic man sitting on Mark's chair instead of the latter, Angel flipped out. She gasped and turned into me, pressing her face into my chest. When I stroked her head and she looked up at me, she whispered, "It's him…Collins, he's come back to taunt me." Angel was terrified.

"No, sweetheart, let the man talk."

Angel turned and looked at Mateo boldly and with great courage. "What, Mateo?" She asked in the coldest, meanest tone I'd ever heard her speak in.

"I…Angel, I'm so sorry. For those seven years of torment and grief I caused you. I apologize for ruining your self-esteem. I want to apologize because when I was younger, I just didn't understand the lifestyle you had chosen. Please. Forgive me." Mateo was begging at that point.

I glanced at Angel, her expression softening. "Of course I'll forgive you, Mateo. It was only a matter of time before you realized that not everyone wants the same things." She smiled warmly at him…but not the normal warmth that usually touched her lips. "Now, I need to talk to Collins here, so if you could leave, that would be greatly appreciated."

"Of course. Thank you for your time." And with that said, Mateo left the loft, sliding the door behind him.

**To be continued? Do you want Angel's side? Do you want more? REVIEW!!!!!!**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer – Don't own it…still…how bout never? I am SO sorry this took me so long! It took me FOREVER to write, then forever to type, then my internet went down...anyway...here it is, at long last.

Chapter Two 

As Mateo slid the door shut behind him, Angel began to tremble. I hugged her closer than I already had been, stroking her back softly. "Shh…it's gonna be okay, baby…shh…" I soothed over and over again.

Her thin body ceased it's shaking after a while and she looked up at me. Angel's eyes…those big, beautiful brown eyes…were filled with tears.

"Col, he made fun of me for _seven_ years. _SEVEN!_ And now he stalks me and expects me to forgive him just like that?" She snapped her fingers, emphasizing the 'that.' "It's ridiculous!" The tears spilled over the edge of her eyes and ran down her cheeks. I stood there, feeling helpless, not knowing what to do. Angel released herself from my grasp and started to pace the large room.

"Did he really think it would be that easy for me? Seriously…Collins, while he teased me, I didn't talk to anyone about it. I was too afraid to. I never told anyone that he was hurting me, making me feel nervous every time I tried to show someone affection. The torment was _finally_ over senior year, when I could escape him.

"My parents had kicked me out when I was sixteen, as you know, because I had told them that I was gay. I was living with Mimi. She was my best friend and I couldn't even tell her about Mateo harassing me because he had threatened to physically hurt me if he found out about me telling anyone." Hot tears of anger and frustration rolled down my Angel's cheeks in waves. Tears threatened to spill out of my eyes, stinging my nose.

There was a soft knock on the door as it slid open. The exact person we needed was standing there.

Mimi.

She entered the room with a bright, cheery smile on her face, but the grin fell off as soon as she saw Angel. Mimi dropped her purse and ran to comfort her best friend.

"Oh my God, what's wrong, baby? What happened? Why is she crying?" The last question was directed at me.

I gestured for Mimi to come over to the couch. She put her arm around Angel's waist and dragged her along as well.

When they both got situated, I told Mimi the whole story. She began to cry at one point, when she asked Angel why she had never told her about Mateo.

Angel averted her eyes downwards, obviously not wanting to tell Mimi. I explained instead.

Once I was done with the whole thing, Mimi sat…absolutely silent. Suddenly, she leapt off the sofa and said, "Where is this guy? I wanna give him a piece of my mind!"

I knew she would want to do something like that, so I gave in. I told her where this guy was staying, but not to go at the moment, because it was 11:00 pm. She hesitated, but finally reluctantly agreed to go the next day.

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Later that night, around midnight, Angel crawled into bed with me. She laid her head on my chest and let out a little sigh.

"What, baby?" I asked.

She seemed to have a hard time putting her thoughts into words. "I just…I'm so glad I have you and Meems to take care of me. Along with everyone else, or course." Angel smiled at me.

I smiled back. "Oh, lover. I'll cover you…" I sang softly into her black wig, kissing the top of it.

I set my book on the floor, snapped off the light, and fell asleep contentedly, yet anxious, as I awaited the next day's events.

**you got to read, now you get to push that wonderful little button under this little persuasive sentence. did my persuasion work?**


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note – It's kind of lame, I know…. okay REALLY lame, but lemme know what you think.

One week later.

None of us will ever know what Mimi said to Mateo. All we know is that she chewed him out so badly that he didn't come back like he said he would. We all wanted him to come back…except for Angel.

If he _had_ come back, I wouldn't have let Angel know that he had. It was hard enough for her the first time; she didn't need a second blow. We all have Mimi to thank for protecting Angel.

I _did_ talk to Angel, however. I asked her why she had never told me anything. She admitted to still being afraid of him…seven years later. And that's all I got out of her.

Surprisingly, Joanne was able to get Angel to really talk. When I asked Jo what Angel had said, she told me that she had promised not to tell.

I was getting very frustrated. I gave up trying to get details about Mateo. Angel and I were tense for a few days. We gave up on that as well, agreeing that being angry with someone you love isn't any fun at all.

Every time Angel and I are together, which is quite often, when I think about it, I say thanks to something. Be it God, Buddha, Allah, I don't know. I just mutter a silent thank you, thanking whoever or whatever that I have my Angel.

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Okay, lame ending I know…please don't shoot me…I really couldn't go anywhere with the story and I wanted to get it out of the way. Go read my other stories, they'll hopefully make it up to you.


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